Sat. 1/8/11 9:56am
Scott:
The Rafferty version of Shoot Out the Lights has been bootlegged fairly extensively, but it's never been officially released. With a little searching, I'd imagine that you can probably find an illegal download online. It would have been a natural to include it on Rhino's recent Shoot Out the Lights anniversary twofer, but it's not there. I seem to remember that a few tracks from the Rafferty version were included on a Thompson compilation, but the details escape me at the moment. I think Rafferty financed the recordings, so presumably he owned the master. The Rafferty version of the album is definitely slicker than, and inferior to, the released Joe Boyd-produced version, but Rafferty definitely deserves props for championing Richard and Linda at a point when their careers were at a low ebb.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:00am
glenn:
thanks scott. i'm one of those obsessive richard thompson freaks people get so tired of.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:00am
Scott:
And speaking of Phil Ochs, the new documentary There But for Fortune is pretty terrific, although it gives somewhat short shrift to his later albums like Greatest Hits and Rehearsals for Retirement, which are my personal favorites (and, I suspect, faves of Bob and a lot of the people listening to the show).

Sat. 1/8/11 10:06am
clarke:
make mine "Pleasures Of The Harbor"

Sat. 1/8/11 10:08am
glenn:
i see richard is being named an officer of the british empire this year.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:26am
postmanpaul:
Tam Harvey was thier guitarist, Bob. I got to know Tam a few years ago through singer/songwriter/journalist Mark McCall, a good mate, down here in Brighton, UK. I think Tam is still picking up the guitar now and again. He grew up amongst the politically active unions up in the north of England and we often spoke of his times in the Band.
God Bless Gerry and all those special people of that era.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:31am
?:
"Stuck in the Middle with You" is one of a handful of songs that take me right back to college, along with Reeling in the Years, I'm just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band and You're So Vain.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:39am
jj moth:
Rapheal Ravenscroft got paid £27 session fee for Baker St and the cheque bounced. I was reading it in an obituary to Gerry the very moment you mentioned it Bob.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:42am
Scott:
Thanks for the great Rafferty tribute, Bob. The man wrote a boatload of beautiful songs and made a whole bunch of lovely records.
Apparently, it was Stealer's Wheel's financial travails that made Rafferty savvy enough to swing himself a very favorable deal when he launched his subsequent solo career, which is what allowed him to reap such a financial windfall when Baker Street became a hit. The same deal also gave him the clout not to tour behind his albums, which was almost unheard of for a major-label artist at the time.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:43am
JohnEBGood:
Bob Holness. I play sax. What power in those 6 notes. I'll look him up. Thanx and Happy New Year to my FMU family!

Sat. 1/8/11 10:49am
paul:
Happy Birthday, Elvis and Bowie.

Sat. 1/8/11 10:52am
dale:
lovely set mr deejay. now i have to buy some early rafferty. and since it reminds me of early al stewart i think i need some of him as well. maybe a cd copy of past present future.

oh, and this last song starts exactly like jealous guy. did lennon 'borrow'?

Sat. 1/8/11 10:54am
paul:
Interesting. I always think of Year of the Cat and Baker St. in a similar vein. That were released about the same time, right?

Sat. 1/8/11 10:56am
clarke:
great show bob!! really enjoyed it despite the loss...

Mon. 1/10/11 2:32am
Bruce Alexander:
Great Tribute Bob- Stuck In The Middle With You was always my favorite song of all timeI flew out the London in 1993 just to see Gerry Rafferty in Concert & also I tryed to meet him but was not alowed to & was waiting for another chance for the last 18 years & this week my hope of that was shattered.I wish I could go back in time & make it happen

Mon. 1/10/11 5:49am
Eugene Bentley:
Bob, I'm glad you dedicated this show to Gerry Rafferty and featuring some tracks from Stealers Wheel debut album AND my my favorite song from that LP the haunting 'Next To Me'. Glad that Lemon CD'd it. Unfortunately the used and incomplete mixdown of 'You Put Something Better Inside Of Me'. To bad we had to ring in the new year with his passing.

Mon. 1/10/11 7:33am
Eugene Bentley:
Leiber & Stoller produced both "Stealers Wheel" and "Ferguslie Park". Mentor Williams produced Stealers Wheel's final album "Right and Wrong". Williams is best known for producing Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" hit single and album.

Tue. 1/11/11 7:03am
Colin CouncilFlat:
Bob Holness Didn't play sax on Baker street. A funny story here that you might have to from the uk to appreciate, although my facts are a bit vague. In the music mag, i think NME, used to have a section called something along the lines of 'Urban Myths'. It was stated there that it was Bob Holness that played sax on that record. Bob Holness was the presenter of the university game show, Blockbusters, and it's ridiculous and believable at the same time to think that he played it :
Here's the game show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exiwQQvbr78
It was on about 5:00pm every week day. We had 4 channels back then...
And here's a rave 'anthem' that was based on the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue5BDnhZidY